VIDEO: Illini RT Alex Palczewski on Watching College Football Last Weekend: 'It was miserable'
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois senior right tackle Alex Palczewski said he started watching college football games last weekend and then "started cussing at the television" because the Big Ten Conference was still paused at the time.
"It was the first time since maybe fourth grade that I was watching football on a Saturday and having no team to play for at the moment," Palczewski said. "It was completely miserable."
Palczewski spoke to media for the first time since the Big Ten office officially announced its plan to conduct a fall football season with the start date being the weekend of Oct. 23-24.
The conference’s nine-game in nine week schedule was first announced on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff pre-game show Saturday morning. Special date games, including Fridays, television selections and game times will be determined and announced by the league office at a later date.
Illinois will open at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison against Wisconsin just 371 days after the Illini one of the biggest upsets in Big Ten history last season with a 24-23 victory over then-No. 6 Wisconsin on Oct. 19, 2019.
Palczewski said last month his mother is a nurse who works on the Intensive Care Unit floor and works with COVID-19 patients. He told reporters after the first day of preseason practice that he intentionally showed his mom, Bozena Palczewski, the plan so she would be comfortable with him playing in the 2020 season.
“She’s seen very young people, in their 30s," Palczewski said. "Obviously we’re very healthy dudes; we’re college Division I athletes. It’s how serious this can be. Maybe it might not affect us but maybe if we transmit it to one of these coaches or a pedestrian or someone, eventually it can reach someone who has immune deficiency. Being serious with it, always wearing a mask and being smart."